Hi, I'm currently in attending college in the US. Right now I'm just going for a general degree in science at a community college. I don't really know what I want kind of field I want to get into yet. I'm wondering if there are any degrees that are currently popular in Japan, or what kind of majors will give me the best chance of working there.

I've heard degrees on Japanese studies aren't very useful, and I'm doing fine studying it on my own, so I don't think I really need to work towards a degree related to Japanese language or culture.

If anyone has any idea, thanks.

Getting /any/ job is easy enough if you're a university student in Japan that speaks Japanese properly, but it'd be best to do something that would give you marketable skills to compensate for any lack in language ability. So you should try to decide roughly what you want to do after university before applying.

One year to graduation (MA) and I'm going to start 就活 as soon as I have a talk with my research adviser.

I am fluent in 3 languages and have a good understanding of another 2. Digital marketing background (researching on it).

Do you have any tips when looking for a job? I'm still a bit overwhelmed with the amount of info online. Do you recommend any website, or whatever you recommend? I want to do this right.

dizmox Wrote:Getting /any/ job is easy enough if you're a university student in Japan that speaks Japanese properly, but it'd be best to do something that would give you marketable skills to compensate for any lack in language ability. So you should try to decide roughly what you want to do after university before applying.

Unfortunately it's doubtful I'll be able to go to a university in Japan. I'm hoping I'll have the chance to work there after I do university in the US. Anything is up in the air, really. I don't have much of a preference, which is why I'm asking if there are any degrees that are sort of popular or "in demand" currently.

1. You need at least bachelor's degree to work in Japan as a foreigner. It's the law.
2. Getting a degree in Japanese is not a good idea, as it's not a very marketable degree.
3. The easiest job to get would be an ALT, or assistant language teacher, where you assist a Japanese teacher of English. Any bachelor's degree will work for this, literally anything. And there are a bajillion job listings for it.
4. If you wanted to be a translator, I know of a translator for Funimation who said he believed his degree in Linguistics helped him get the job, but I'm pretty sure JLPT N1 and a high degree of proficiency in the language would be a bigger plus than any specific degree.
5. Therefore, if you wanted to go into any of those careers (ALT, translator/interpreter) just get a degree in whatever you want/think would benefit you the most that will be marketable outside of Japan, should you decide you don't like it there and end up moving back or don't want to work in one of those careers I mentioned.

As for websites to find jobs, I always hear people mention GaijinPot.com. Or maybe it's .org.... I forget. GaijinPot.something-or-other.

As for jobs outside of the three I mentioned...I've heard that it's rather difficult to get any job outside of one that requires native English speaking ability, as they can simply hire a Japanese person to do the same thing without the trouble of having to get them a work visa. I've only looked into translation-related jobs, cuz that's what interests me. Outside of that...I dunno. Your best bet might be a business degree, since it's versatile and many companies probably have a branch in Japan that they may transfer you to. Plus it probably isn't /too/ difficult to get a job as a salaryman.

Not sure if this applies to you, but getting a student visa isn't terribly difficult if you apply to a Japanese language school in Japan. A good one I heard of is KCP International, in Tokyo. You pay to go there, and they give you a student visa. I'm not 100% on this, but I believe you are allowed to work something like 20 hours a week on a student visa, which you could use to get your foot in the door somewhere. Another option is the JET program or Interac, working as an ALT. Then you'd have a full-time job on a work visa, get experience, work on your language skills, pass the JLPT N2 or N1, then get a job in the field you want from there.


P.S. - This is all secondhand information I've gathered over the last year or so of researching Japan, about the time I seriously starting to think about going over there. So I can't guarantee that all of it is 100% correct. But all the information comes from personal accounts of people currently or formerly living/working in Japan, so I doubt any of it is 100% false either. Take it with a grain of salt I guess.

P.S.S. - I'm not 100% on this, but I've heard it said that you might possibly need to show that you have a certain amount of money in order for them to issue you a long-term type visa, to make sure you can support yourself. I've heard people say several different amounts, ranging from $5,000 to 30,000. I have no idea if this is true or not, and I have no idea what the actual amount is if it is true. That'd be something to look into.

Jombo Wrote:

dizmox Wrote:Getting /any/ job is easy enough if you're a university student in Japan that speaks Japanese properly, but it'd be best to do something that would give you marketable skills to compensate for any lack in language ability. So you should try to decide roughly what you want to do after university before applying.

Unfortunately it's doubtful I'll be able to go to a university in Japan. I'm hoping I'll have the chance to work there after I do university in the US. Anything is up in the air, really. I don't have much of a preference, which is why I'm asking if there are any degrees that are sort of popular or "in demand" currently.

Sorry I misread, I thought you were going to study in Japan. D:

I'd suggest CS then, choose a subfield of IT and become great at it before graduating. There's lots of demand for IT skills here.

Stick with a STEM degree or business/finance. As mentioned, CS has some high demand. A lot of businesses view foreign software engineers as better than Japanese ones. I think a lot of this has to do with how companies tend to hire and train fresh grads.

Try to find something you like though, don't just choose something because it'll increase your chance to live in Japan. If you do that then you can expect to have a miserable life trying to work a job you don't like. (That said, don't get a humanities degree)

You might consider international business with some time studying abroad in Japan.

Although this is speculative to some degree, I'd recommend studying something that's unlikely/difficult to automate. I won't be surprised if jobs like accounting, financial trading, or logistics become mostly automated within the next 1-2 decades. The chaos of screams and paper at the NYSE has already been replaced by quiet and efficient algorithms. Robots do all the inventory logistics at Amazon now, and humans just do the robots' grunt work. However, anything that involves evaluating (i.e. on the basis of values, not rules) or abstracting should be safe for now.

vix86 Wrote:A lot of businesses view foreign software engineers as better than Japanese ones. I think a lot of this has to do with how companies tend to hire and train fresh grads.

It's because foreign CS grads learn/do science and the theory of computation. Japanese programmers basically just go to a code camp sponsored by their companies. To make a crude analogy, foreign CS grads are trained to understand how the machine works and its relation to all other machines. On the other hand, Japanese programmers are trained to only understand the machine's individual mechanisms.

Quote:(That said, don't get a humanities degree)

Solution: double major. Many of the other philosophy majors I know also majored in math, physics, or economics. Apparently a double major in philosophy and math makes non-academic interviewers think you're a genius (no word on the other two, since the ones I know are all still in academia).

I'm always told that they don't really care what you major is, that everything you'll do in the company you'll learn while you're there.

Rina Wrote:I'm always told that they don't really care what you major is, that everything you'll do in the company you'll learn while you're there.

The problem is, this is only applicable to Japanese students or students that have gone through the 4 year system in Japan. Very few companies will hire from abroad only to turn around and train them from complete scratch.

Even in a country like the US. Companies want students with some background, not complete nothing.

vix86 Wrote:

Rina Wrote:I'm always told that they don't really care what you major is, that everything you'll do in the company you'll learn while you're there.

The problem is, this is only applicable to Japanese students or students that have gone through the 4 year system in Japan. Very few companies will hire from abroad only to turn around and train them from complete scratch.

Even in a country like the US. Companies want students with some background, not complete nothing.

I'm taking a masters degree here, and the year before I studied japanese culture and language here too （別科）.
Will I be equally considered?

vix86 Wrote:Stick with a STEM degree or business/finance. As mentioned, CS has some high demand. A lot of businesses view foreign software engineers as better than Japanese ones. I think a lot of this has to do with how companies tend to hire and train fresh grads.

Try to find something you like though, don't just choose something because it'll increase your chance to live in Japan. If you do that then you can expect to have a miserable life trying to work a job you don't like. (That said, don't get a humanities degree)

Oh yeah definitely. I'll go with something that I'll be satisfied with in the end.

I actually have been thinking about a CS degree for a while, that's why I'm currently working towards a general science degree at my community college. I've been a little discouraged by CS because I heard it was really competitive, and on top of that people are telling me you don't even need to go to college for it. Just learn it all online and on your own. However, knowing that I need at least a Bachellor's degree to work in Japan, I think I might go for it after all.

@frosty_rain Your post was incredibly insightful. Thanks for the information.

Rina Wrote:I'm taking a masters degree here, and the year before I studied japanese culture and language here too （別科）.
Will I be equally considered?

The second hand info I've heard about Masters degrees in Japan is that industry employment with a grad degree is a little different from undergrad. Companies won't view you the same way they do with a 4 year degree. This is the case with Japanese students doing it. Pretty much it means you have to apply for individual positions. I've known a few people that have gotten a Masters in Japan and then got employed there; one was headhunted by Google Japan.

Jombo Wrote:I actually have been thinking about a CS degree for a while, that's why I'm currently working towards a general science degree at my community college. I've been a little discouraged by CS because I heard it was really competitive, and on top of that people are telling me you don't even need to go to college for it. Just learn it all online and on your own. However, knowing that I need at least a Bachellor's degree to work in Japan, I think I might go for it after all.

You can learn to program without a CS degree. In fact, many would argue that CS degrees won't really teach you how to program per say. Regardless, having that degree slot filled def. helps you check a box on any HR form. If you go and look at and Software engineer positions, they have a line that under "Required qualities" that says "4 year degree in CS, engineering, or a related field." If programming is what you want, get that degree.

vix86 Wrote:

Rina Wrote:I'm taking a masters degree here, and the year before I studied japanese culture and language here too （別科）.
Will I be equally considered?

The second hand info I've heard about Masters degrees in Japan is that industry employment with a grad degree is a little different from undergrad. Companies won't view you the same way they do with a 4 year degree. This is the case with Japanese students doing it. Pretty much it means you have to apply for individual positions. I've known a few people that have gotten a Masters in Japan and then got employed there; one was headhunted by Google Japan.

Thanks.

How do they view masters graduates then?

I wonder how japanese companies see 1st tier universities from other countries (except globally famous american and british universities)...